Ford Explorer reborn-thanks to VW tie-up

OFFICIAL MEB underpinnings have enabled Ford to tailor the mid-size electric SUV for European tastes - it's coming to showrooms later this year

- Richard Ingram

FORD is reinventing the Explorer name for a new mid-size electric SUV. Following in the footsteps of the sleek Mustang Mach-E, the new 2023 Explorer has been revealed with a choice of two trims, two battery options and up to 335bhp from a dual-motor configuration that brings all-wheel drive.

Built on the same MEB platform as the Volkswagen ID.4, the Ford Explorer is the result of an ongoing partnership between the two brands. The companies have already shared their commercial-vehicle expertise on vans and pick-ups, and now the attention turns to passenger EVs.

Volkswagen has had something of a head start, though: the ID.3 and ID.4 have been on sale for a few years now, and the former was even given its mid-life nip-and-tuck earlier this month. But good things come to those who wait; Ford has listened implicitly to detailed customer feedback, with its mission being to fix some of VW's failings with its EVs.

From the front, the Explorer takes on a stockier, more aggressive stance than the ID. models. The Ford's blade-like LED headlights are connected by a piece of trim that lead designer Jordan Demkiw calls the car's "coast-to-coast" panel. There's a silver scuff plate and body cladding that runs the length of the car, which the brand says has allowed it to reinterpret the "assertive and rugged appeal of Ford's iconic [Explorer] SUV-specifically for customers in Europe".

Demkiw and his team have incorporated a floating roof design thanks to black A, B, and C-pillars, with a semi-transparent graphic on the rear pillars that mimics the gas-guzzling US-spec Explorer's design without any affect on rearward visibility, according to Ford. Buyers will get a choice of wheels ranging from 19 to 21 inches, as well as a choice of exterior paint options.